


The Outcome of the Hearing

by Cantatrice18



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Comfort/Angst, Feels, Gen, Pre-Canon, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 16:25:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10364646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantatrice18/pseuds/Cantatrice18
Summary: Queenie stands outside the door of the disciplinary courtroom, waiting for her sister's hearing to finish. When Tina finally emerges, Queenie needs no Legilimancy to understand what happened. She helps her sister home and does her best to make the Wand Permit Office seem less like a death sentence, and more like a temporary setback.





	

The nondescript, stone-floored hallway was nearly deserted. Occasionally a MACUSA witch or wizard would hurry by, their various papers and memos fluttering behind them like flocks of ink-splashed birds. Only the young blonde woman in the stylish green silk dress stayed still. Queenie was staring at a polished wooden door, a look of concentration on her face. A plaque on the door read "Office of Disciplinary Action" in plain black letters. Like all doors in MACUSA, the wood had been bewitched to block all sound, but no door could block the thoughts of those inside from reaching a determined legilimens. Queenie felt the hearing as clearly as if she were standing in front of the Disciplinary Committee herself, and what she felt did nothing to remove the weight that had settled on her chest. When the door to the hearing room finally opened, she stepped forward to meet the black-clad witch who emerged. Tina looked as though she'd watched a beloved pet get run down by an automobile in the street. Her large eyes stared blankly ahead, her already pale face bloodless. Only when Queenie touched her shoulder did she blink and pull away. "Dearest," Queenie murmured, ignoring the group of wizards now exiting the room behind Tina. 

"Don't," said Tina through gritted teeth. "Stop reading me, I can't stand it."

Queenie noticed Percival Graves leaving the hearing room, his expression troubled. She didn't have time or energy to read his emotions, but she imagined them to be far more complicated than those of the pompous, self-satisfied wizards who had joined him on the panel. Graves had always been a mentor to her sister. It must have killed him to see his protegé brought so low. 

Tina was shaking from the energy of holding herself together. Queenie took her firmly by the arm and began to guide her down the hallway. Tina resisted, turning her face away. "I'm not going to read you, don't worry," Queenie informed her tartly. "But if you think that means I'm not going to take care of you, you've got another think coming."

"Can't go home," Tina muttered. "I have to, to clean out--"

She lost her battle with tears, lowering her head and letting her hair fall forward to hide them. "Like heck you do," said Queenie, placing her free hand on her sister's waist. "You're coming home with me. Any work you have can wait. Besides which, if you get here early tomorrow no one will be in the Auror office. You can gather your things in private."

Tina nodded mutely. She did not ask how Queenie knew the outcome of the trial. The younger sister led the elder through the winding halls of MACUSA, avoiding any of the main passageways to keep from being stared at. Once they reached the main atrium level, Queenie made a beeline for the door. Even the sound of Abernathy calling her name did nothing to deter her from her goal. The moment they were through the doors and down the no-maj filled steps, she pulled her sister close and disapparated. The two of them reappeared within their own apartment with a sharp cracking sound. Technically, Queenie knew, they weren't supposed to apparate inside, for fear of being heard by their neighbors, but this was an emergency. The second their surroundings solidified, Tina lost her composure, sobs ripping their way free of her throat. She swayed on the spot and Queenie quickly grasped her around the waist to keep her upright. Tina leaned heavily on the younger girl's shoulder, letting her tears mar the sheen of the emerald silk dress. Queenie rubbed her back soothingly. "I know, honey, I know," she murmured.

"They wouldn't listen," Tina wept. "Not one of those crusty old squibs heard a word I said. I think Mr. Graves supported me, but he couldn't go against all the rest."

"Well, at least you have him on your side," said Queenie, stroking her sister's hair. "You'll be back on your feet soon, I'm certain of it, and when you do..." She smiled. "Those codgers won't know what hit them."

"Oh, Queenie." Tina pulled away, some of her sorrow replaced by annoyance and anger. " You don't know what you're talking about. The Auror Squad doesn't forgive mistakes, not like mine, and once a witch is out she's out for good. It would take a miracle to get back in the President's good graces, and that means I'm going to spend the rest of my career in some mindless, menial office job in the lower levels that anyone with half a wand and the brains of a troll could do. Only the hopeless cases end up there."

Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she'd said. "Queen, I didn't mean you, I--"

"I'm not offended," Queenie reassured her calmly. "It's only natural you would feel like that, being a career girl all your life and all."

This reply made Tina blush a deep pink along the lines of her cheekbones. "It was an awful, mean-spirited thing to say, and I don't believe it. Not about you, anyway. Read me and see."

"I don't have to," Queenie informed her with a smile. "I've always been able to tell when you're lying, even without my power."

"True enough," Tina said, returning the smile with a shaky one of her own. "It always made Christmas such a pain in the--"

"Well it comes in handy now, anyway," Queenie cut her off. 

The two girls looked at one another for a moment, then began to laugh helplessly. "Oh God, what am I going to do?" moaned Tina between hysterical giggles. 

"The same thing you always do," Queenie replied firmly. "Throw yourself into whatever work you're given, and do a better job than anyone else ever could."

"Even in the Wand Permit Office?" Tina spoke the name as though it were the vilest thing in New York. 

"Even there," said Queenie. "I have faith in you."

Tina hugged her, this time by choice and not necessity. "You've always had more faith in me than I deserve. But I'm grateful for it."

"I have exactly the right amount of faith in you, not to mention pride," Queenie countered. "I'm not the only one, either. If you could have seen what the kids at Ilvermorny thought of you, or the teachers, or really anyone else whose gotten the chance to know you, you'd understand why I have no trouble believing in your greatness. Wand Permits and all."

Tina sighed. "I'll be alright. It might not be forever. In a few months I might be able to transfer somewhere else in MACUSA, somewhere more challenging. But I'm not giving up on the New Salemers. They're more dangerous than anyone thinks."

"I've never known you to give up on anything," said Queenie. "I'd be blown away if you started now."

Tina laughed again and let go of her sister, straightening up with a groan. "Dinnertime," Queenie said matter-of-factly. "Then bed. I need my beauty sleep, and so do you."

Tina snorted, but did not argue. The day had clearly taken its toll on her, and her shoulders slumped with exhaustion as she allowed Queenie to lead her to the kitchen. 

Ten minutes later they were eating chicken pot pies with gravy. Twenty minutes after that they were both in bed. As they settled into comfortable silence, listening to the automobiles as they passed and the sound of a neighbor snoring two floors above them, Queenie's voice carried across the still bedroom. 

"Brains of a troll, huh?"

The sound of their laughter joined the creak of the tenement staircase and the distant barking of dogs.


End file.
